In this episode, Yo gets some good advice from her almost-boyfriend, Yu. It’s probably a good thing, but it doesn’t seem like she likes to listen to advice.

Ren goes to Shanghai to see some clients about their new building, but keeps checking his phone to see if Yo has answered his voicemail. His friend at work, Mr. Yang, starts to notice how distracted he is.

Ryusei is being very lighthearted, teasing Yo and calling her a princess, cooking, and grabbing her for hugs. She seems to feel that it is a bit much and asks him to stop.

Yu comes up to the main office again and notes that Yo looks tired. She denies it so he asks if it is love then? He knows her pretty well. He asks her if she is sure she likes the guy, and suggests that she might just be fooled by the thrill.

When Yo finally calls Ren it is to invite him to a party with some old friends from their school days. She is surprised he’s out of town and claims she didn’t get the voicemail. At the party, the friends tell Yo that Ren went to her college just to be with her, but could’ve gotten into a much better one. Gaku thinks that Ren did not make it into the better school and he feels bad because he was Ren’s tutor.

Ryusei calls and tries to get Yo to skip out on the party and visit a business contact with him, but she turns him down. He asks if Ren is there and is reassured to discover that he is not. When Yo goes back to her friends they are playing music by the Setsuna Boys and talking about what great lyrics they have.

That night Ryusei asks Yo to stop seeing Ren. She thinks for a minute and then very gently kneels by him with her hand on his arm, and explains that when he left and she was very depressed, Ren had stood by her, and always has.

Increasingly annoyed, Ryusei growls that at least she didn’t see Ren today because he was in Shanghai. She picks up on that and asks how he knew. He just did, he says, and reaffirms he wants her to only see him. She quietly says she’ll think about it, and goes home. She is dispiritedly lying on her bed when Ren calls, and smiles when she hears his voice. She asks him if he told Ryusei that he was in Shanghai, but he says no.

The next morning there is a thump and a rumble as Yo’s mom falls down the stairs. Just as Yo is calling Gaku, the doorbell rings and Ryusei arrives to take her to work. He helps take Mom to the hospital instead and stays with Yo while they wait for news.

They get Mom back home just before Gaku runs in breathlessly. He comments that usually Ren helps them in emergencies like this. “Brother-in-law,” Ryusei offers, “if something like this were to happen again, please count on me.”

A few days later Yo and Ryusei meet Ren at a restaurant to explain that they are together. Ryusei is the only one who is comfortable; the other two just stare at their plates. Ryusei asks Ren what Yo was like in high school. “Sincere and hard working,” Ren says slowly, “and selfish and very assertive.” Yo is affronted, but Ryusei is secretly amused!

Suddenly Ren gets angry and accuses Yo of deleting his voicemail, and then Yo gets angry too and stalks out. “You really are a sissy,” Ryusei tells Ren, and follows her out. He tells her to calm down and admits right away that he deleted the phone mail. He says that it wasn’t important, but it’s her fault anyway for sending messages behind his back.

This time Ren calls to meet with Ryusei. He tells Ryusei to always hear Yo out when she wants to talk. Ryusei doesn’t understand him at all. “Why should I listen to you?” he asks. “You’re just a friend, aren’t you? Then what’s with that voicemail?” He adds that he’s the one who erased it. Ren thinks a minute, says now he feels better, and leaves.

This time Ren goes out and gets drunk on purpose. Yo finds him, tries to cheer him up, and asks what the voicemail was. He stalls and then lies that he was just asking what she wanted for a souvenir. To himself he thinks, he wants to stay as her best friend forever.

I’m disappointed in Ryusei for trying to control Yo by asking her to leave the party, and it’s worrisome that he said that something he did was her fault. But I am happy that he admitted he deleted the voicemail and didn’t lie about it. Are we liking him or not?

Telzeytalks

Dramas With a Side of Kimchi